Pa. Sup. Ct. IOP § 6

A. Assignment. The Prothonotary shall initially screen petitions for allowance of

appeal for compliance with the applicable appellate rules. Untimely petitions may

be refused for filing by the Prothonotary without further action of the Court.

Petitions for allowance of appeal shall be assigned to individual Justices by the

Prothonotary on a rotating basis by seniority for preparation of an allowance of

appeal report. Petitions from the same district presenting the same question shall

be consolidated; petitions from different districts that present the same question

may be consolidated at the discretion of the Court.

B. Circulation and Disposition. Allowance of appeal reports shall be circulated

within ninety (90) days of the receipt of such an assignment. The proposed

disposition date shall not be greater than sixty (60) days from the date of

circulation. Holds may be placed on petitions for allowance of appeal only upon

written notice to the members of the Court as to the reasons for the hold, e.g.,

the existence of another petition from another district presenting the same

question. No hold may be placed on a petition without the existence of a

terminus, e.g., the issuance of an opinion on a petition presenting the same

question. Where a hold results from the existence of another petition presenting

the same issue, the parties shall be notified of the hold and the case that will

determine the issue. A hold for the purpose of preparing a counter-report shall

not exceed thirty (30) days; only by vote of the majority may a hold be extended

beyond thirty (30) days, but in no event shall a hold for such purpose exceed

ninety (90) days.

Notwithstanding any contrary procedures set forth above, allowance of appeal

reports in Children’s Fast Track appeals are to be circulated within thirty (30)

days of the receipt of the assignment, and the proposed disposition date shall not

be greater than thirty (30) days from the date of circulation. A hold for purposes

of preparing a counter-report in a Children’s Fast Track appeal shall not exceed

fifteen (15) days; only by vote of the majority may a hold be extended beyond

fifteen (15) days, but in no event shall a hold exceed forty-five (45) days.

Upon the affirmative vote of three or more Justices, allowance of appeal will be

granted and the case will be listed for oral argument, unless the order indicates

that the matter will be submitted on the briefs. An order granting a petition for

allowance of appeal shall specify the issues upon which allowance of appeal was

granted.

A per curiam order granting allowance of appeal and reversing an order of the

lower court must cite to controlling legal authority or provide a full explanation of

the reasons for reversal.

A Justice may request that the order resolving the petition for allowance of

appeal record that he or she voted for a different disposition. All orders shall

indicate if a Justice did not participate in the consideration or decision of the

matter.

C. Reconsideration Applications.

1. Assignment. The Prothonotary shall direct applications for reconsideration

to the Justice who authored the allowance of appeal report.

2. Circulation and Disposition. The assigned Justice shall circulate to the

Court a recommended disposition within fourteen (14) days of the date of

the assignment, or within seven (7) days of the date of assignment in

Children’s Fast Track appeals. A Justice who disagrees with the

recommended disposition shall circulate a counter-recommendation within

fourteen (14) days of the original recommendation, or within seven (7)

days of the date of the original recommendation in Children’s Fast Track

appeals. A vote of the majority is required to grant reconsideration. In

any case in which reconsideration has been denied, a Justice may request

that the order record that he or she voted to grant reconsideration. All

orders shall indicate if a Justice did not participate in the consideration or

decision of the matter.